BMW 1 series arriving in India on September 3

It’s confirmed. BMW will be launching the 1 series in India on the 3rd of September. The world’s one and only rear wheel drive hatchback will be assembled in BMW’s facility in Chennai. The car will be available as a five door hatch with an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard.

The 1 comes with a variety of petrol engines - right from the 114i making 102bhp right up to the 135i making 320bhp. The diesel line-up begins with the 116d making 116bhp going up to the 125d making 218bhp. The company has not finalised the engine iterations India will get. But we expect the 116i petrol making 136bhp. It’s essentially a 1.6-litre turbo-charged 4-cylinder engine. And the diesel will be represented by the 118d, a 2-litre diesel that makes 143bhp. Besides, BMW has confirmed there are no 1-series sedan plans in the offing.

The 1 will have all BMW traits - rear-wheel drive, 50:50 weight distribution, longitudinally-mounted engine and hopefully the better road dynamics that come with such credentials. While the Mercedes A-Class definitely looks better, the 1 series will have one significant advantage. BMW’s strategy of assembling the car in India will allow it to price the hatch way cheaper than the fully-imported A-Class. So while the fully-loaded A180 Sport is a good Rs 30 lakh on the road in Mumbai, expect the 1 to be significantly cheaper.